A Tale of Two Cities
by DiamondWings0
Summary: One is the daughter of a wealthy family in Piltover, the City of Progess. The other is a boy genius from the streets of Zaun. They might as well come from two different worlds, but they might have more in common than you'd think, like an uncanny nose for trouble.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

Hi everyone! So this is my first LoL fanfic and I'm going to screw with the timeline a little bit. I'm making Caitlyn and Vi younger, like 19, but they're already working together. Caitlyn is also not the head sheriff yet. I'm not exactly sure where she falls in the chain of command, but she's not the head, yet.

I hope you guys enjoy :).

* * *

Chapter 1

It was a mostly normal day in Piltover, which meant that the streets were completely crowded with people. Caitlyn forced her way through the crowded street, trying to catch up to her targets. The two men she was chasing each had a small bag of stolen hextech crystals.

As they reached the edge of town, Caitlyn cursed. It would be extremely annoying if they managed to escape into Zaun.

Then a flash of pink appeared, and one of the men dropped, unconscious. Poor guy's going to get a concussion. The other took one glance at the pink haired woman with giant gauntlets before sprinting down the street as fast as he could. Smart move.

Caitlyn didn't even bother to slow down as she passed her partner. "Take him in. I've got the other one."

"Why do I always get the boring jobs?" complained Vi.

Caitlyn ignored her and continued running after the other man. They were in the boundary markets now, and they were even more crowded than the streets in Piltover, if such a thing was even possible. She couldn't shoot here without risking accidentally hurting a bystander.

The man looked over his shoulder. Caitlyn gave him a cocky smile and his eyes filled with fear. He turned a corner and Caitlyn followed him into the back alleys. Here there were fewer people, but still enough to stare at them in confusion. They turned another corner and suddenly Caitlyn was staring at an empty alley that forked at the end.

She stopped for a second and listened. She could hear loud _clomps_ of boots against cobblestone to her left, so she turned left and continued her chase. It wasn't long before she finally found her target again.

He was running down a long empty alley, save for one child. Caitlyn ran past the little boy and dropped to one knee, aiming her rifle. She pulled the trigger and a beam of energy pierced straight through the man's thigh.

He crashed to the ground and rolled as he pulled out a hextech gun and fired. Caitlyn sidestepped out of the way, but her stomach dropped when she realized that it was now aimed at the little boy, who had stuck around to watch the fight.

Suddenly, another boy dropped from the roof of a building and knocked the little boy away. The newcomer was a teenage boy, probably around 17 or 18 years old, and he had a white mohawk and a white hourglass painted on his face. He was holding a metal sword looking thing, and looked like he just came out of a fight since he was covered in bruises.

"Run," he ordered the younger boy, who only hesitated for a second before running away.

By the time the younger boy had disappeared behind the corner, the older boy was already in front of the thief. The thief didn't even have time to react before the boy brought his sword down on the thief's hand, knocking the gun out of his hand.

The thief screamed as he clutched his hand and started scooting backwards. But he didn't make it very far before an electric net fell on him. Caitlyn lowered her rifle and relaxed, assuming the fight was over. But apparently the boy didn't think so.

He chucked something in her direction and she sidestepped it on instinct. It flew past her and hit something else. She didn't know how to describe it. It looked like a man fused with a machine. Green tubes were sticking out of his back and pipes connected it to a mask over his face. His arms had been replaced with mechanized fists and there seemed to be several other pieces of his body that were augmented. He must have been trying to sneak up on them.

The thing the boy through suddenly exploded, sending both the augmented man and her flying backwards. Caitlyn fell down slightly dazed and watched as the device flew back towards the boy.

The augmented man snapped out of his daze and charged at the boy, passing right by Caitlyn. Caitlyn felt her eyebrow twitch. Did he not consider her a threat?

Caitlyn propped her rifle up and quickly changed the setting. The augmented man and the boy were currently duking it out, but the boy managed to evade each of his opponent's moves with stunning speed.

Caitlyn waited for the perfect opportunity before firing. One of the augmented man's giant fists just got incinerated. It wasn't long before the boy disabled his other arm. Caitlyn flipped a switch and fired another electric net.

The augmented man dropped next to the thief, completely incapacitated, and Caitlyn started walking towards them.

"That's what you get for underestimating me," she said with a cocky grin.

The augmented man just glared at her as she approached even closer. Then a body slammed into hers and they were both sent flying backwards. She opened her eyes to find the other boy on top of her.

Caitlyn was about to push him off, but then an explosion erupted where the two men were. Caitlyn's eyes widened when she turned her head to find two charred corpses.

"Run!" yelled the boy as he pushed her to her feet.

Another explosion was all the encouragement she needed as the first one set off a chain reaction. When did they even have time to set that up?

As she ran, her foot suddenly fell into a pothole and she hissed in pain as her ankle twisted. Her body crashed onto the floor, but the other boy didn't even break his pace as he grabbed her arm and pulled it over his shoulder.

They managed to hobble out of the alley, well, it was mostly him dragging her out. One last explosion sent them both crashing into the ground. Caitlyn waited for another explosion to sound, but after a long period of silence, she decided that it was over.

Caitlyn pushed herself up and tried to put weight on her foot, but hissed in pain.

"Look's like your ankle's sprained," said the boy.

"No shit, Sherlock," replied Caitlyn.

He looked at her, slightly shoked. "You have quite a bad mouth for a Piltie."

"And you have quite a chivalrous attitude for a Zaunite."

The boy visibly bristled. "Not all Zaunites are mad evil scientists."

"Not all Pilties are pompous stuck-ups."

"... point taken."

Caitlyn could feel a smile tugging on her lips. Normally she wouldn't dare utter such words, but it wasn't like any of the higher ups were here and this was Zaun, so it shouldn't matter that much.

The boy suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her up. He positioned her arm around his neck. "Come on. I'll help you to the Howler."

Caitlyn could feel her face redden. "I can get there on my own."

"Sure you can, Top Hat."

Caitlyn tried to place weight on her injured ankle again, but hissed out in pain.

"Told you."

Caitlyn sighed and leaned most of her weight against the boy. The boy grinned and she just glared at him as they started walking.

"So what's your name?" asked the boy.

"Isn't it customary to introduce yourself first?"

The boy rolled his eyes, "so you are a rule loving Piltie."

"And apparently you do have the mouth of a Zaunite."

The boy snorted. "And you have one that would put the majority of Zaunites to shame."

"...was that a compliment?"

"That depends of your viewpoint."

"Then I'll take it as a compliment."

The boy laughed and Caitlyn could feel herself smile as well. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again.

"It's Caitlyn."

"I'm Ekko, but you can call me his majesty the awesome."

"Okay, Mr. stuck up Zaunite."

"Shut up, Miss bad mouthed Piltie."

Caitlyn grinned just as the elevator connecting Piltover and Zaun came into view. Then she heard someone yell her name.

"Caitlyn!"

Both Caitlyn and Ekko turned to find Vi jogging up to them.

Caitlyn could feel Ekko stiffen. Vi also stopped when she noticed Ekko. Caitlyn looked between them. Did they know each other?

"Oh. Hey, Ekko," said Vi.

"Hey," said Ekko emotionlessly. He removed Caitlyn's arm from his neck and Caitlyn shifted her weight so it fell on her good foot.

Ekko turned around. "I'll be going now," he said as he started walking away.

"Erm. Thanks!" said Caitlyn at his retreating back.

Ekko didn't respond as he disappeared in the Zaunite crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ekko weaved through the empty streets of Zaun, but with no real destination in mind. He just needed some time to think, somewhere without as many stupid Pilties.

Ekko shook his head. How could he be so stupid? He should have recognized her even before she said her name. The top hat and hextech rifle obviously belonged to the rising Sheriff of Piltover, partner of Vi. She just wasn't … what he'd expected. He never understood how Vi could stand being around so many Pilties, but now he could see that they weren't all bad.

Ekko suddenly stopped. He was standing in front of the mural, again. His feet had carried him here on their own. He looked at the face on the right and internally cringed at his ten year old self's drawing skills. The face was barely recognizable now, well to be fair, the person had changed a lot too, but it was a pretty bad drawing either way. His gaze automatically drifted to the left and landed on the other face, painted around the same time. There sat another unrecognizable face, and that wasn't because of his terrible drawing skills.

He had thought for a long time that she was dead, but then he started hearing rumors about a crazy blue haired girl running around Piltover going by the name of "X". He still wasn't completely sure if she was the same girl he had used to know. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know either.

Just then another boy appeared.

"Ekko!" he called out, panting heavily.

"What is it, Clay?" asked Ekko, tearing his eyes off the wall.

"One of chem-baron Krauss's men is here. He says he wants to talk to you."

"About what?" asked Ekko.

"I don't know, but he looks pretty angry," said Clay.

Ekko groaned. He definitely did not feel like dealing with chem-barons right now, or anytime really.

"Fine, fine. I'll go see what he wants now," said Ekko. "You go tell everyone to stay away."

Clay frowned, "we can help if a fight breaks out."

"A fight is the last thing I need right now," said Ekko. He was still sore from his last fight, and he really didn't feel like straining his body anymore.

Clay hesitated before nodding and jogging away. Ekko sighed and anchored his Z-drive. He hoped he didn't need to use it. Then he left to meet this visitor.

* * *

If there was anyone Ekko hated as much as Pilties, it was chem-barons, and their men. Ekko instantly disliked the large burly man that was waiting for him. His entire right arm was augmented with a giant hulking chunk of metal that Ekko assumed was supposed to be a fist. Ekko had already pinpointed the weak points and exposed wires, so if a fight did break out, he could easily slash through a couple wires, or cut off a certain bolt, and the whole thing would be reduced to nothing more than dead weight.

The large man glared at Ekko. He was at least two heads taller than Ekko, but Ekko didn't even flinch as he returned his glare.

"Are you Ekko?" asked the man in a dump raspy voice that told Ekko that he spent a lot of time in the sump.

"Yeah, and who might you be?" asked Ekko.

"That's not important," started the man.

"Then can I call you Bob?" asked Ekko.

"What? No!"

"How about Jimmy? Or Billy?"

"Fine! My name is Ash."

Ash glared at Ekko for another two seconds before continuing, "have you seen a boy who looks like this in this area in the last two days?" He held out a crumpled picture of a young boy who looked at most ten.

"No," said Ekko.

"Well, he went missing in your area, and you're going to return him to us," said Ash.

"What? We have nothing to do with this missing boy!" said Ekko.

"He went missing in your area."

"That means nothing! He might have wandered away and gotten lost!"

"Then you'll let us conduct our own investigation?" questioned Ash.

"Absolutely not! Stay out of our territory," growled Ekko. He had heard enough stories about chem-baron Krauss's "investigations" to know that it was definitely not something he wanted anywhere close to his friends.

Ash grinned, "Good. Then you have two weeks to return him to us."

* * *

Caitlyn looked up from the newspaper she was reading and took a sip of tea.

"So, what's your relationship with Ekko?" she asked Vi, who sat down across from her. She'd been itching to ask that question ever since they returned from Zuan, which was a week ago. But with her sprained ankle, she'd been stuck doing paperwork all day, while Vi was busy chasing after that lunic Jinx.

Vi just shrugged. "We were both kids growing up in Zuan. We were part of the same gang for a while."

"And then?"

"I left," she said flatly.

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow, but Vi didn't elaborate further. Caitlyn sighed, she could pry further some other time.

The one good thing she got out of being stuck on paperwork duty, was that she got to research Ekko, the boy who shattered time. For some reason, she just couldn't get him out of her mind. To say she was shocked upon learning who he was would be an understatement. She had heard rumors about a Zaunite who had the ability to travel back in time, but she never expected him to be so young, or nice.

"So, is your ankle better?" asked Vi, changing the topic.

"Do you think they'd let me out if it wasn't?" questioned Caitlyn.

"Would it hurt to give a straight answer for once?" grumbled Vi. "So what's the new mission?"

"We're going to hunt down a kidnapper," said Caitlyn taking another sip of tea.

"Any details?"

"Not much. A boy was sent out to do errands in the boundary markets, but he never returned," said Caitlyn sliding the case file over.

Vi flipped through the pages until she found a loose photo.

"So we just ask people if they've seen him?" asked Vi.

"That's the plan."

"And that's why you asked me to meet you here."

"We all know if I asked you to meet me at the office, you'd arrive two hours late."

Vi rolled her eyes. Caitlyn smiled as she finished her cup of tea and set it down.

"I'll start on the west side, you take the east side," said Caitlyn getting up.

"Okay, cupcakes," said Vi, getting up as well.

* * *

After an hour of useless responses, Caitlyn wasn't expecting anything when she asked an elderly flower shop owner.

"Excuse me, have you seen a young boy that looks like this?" asked Caitlyn showing her the picture.

"Oh! Are you with that other boy?" asked the elderly woman.

"Other boy?" asked Caitlyn confused.

"Yes, the one with white hair and a white hourglass on his face."

Caitlyn could feel her heart skip a beat. Was Ekko involved somehow?

"Yes, I'm with him. Could you tell me which way he went?" asked Caitlyn.

* * *

Ekko honestly didn't know why he was here. The boy, his name was Nel, was passing through their territory to get to the Boundary Markets. Or at least that was what Ash had claimed. Ekko doubted the validity of that statement. Krauss most likely just wanted an excuse to pick a fight with the Lost Children of Zaun because they had stolen some goods from his Chem-factory.

After a week of information gathering, he learned that Nel was an actual boy who had actually been part of Krauss's gang. However, he had been spotted roughly two blocks from the Boundary Markets on the night he disappeared, so he did not go missing in their territory. But Ekko doubted Krauss would care.

"Ekko!"

Ekko froze. He didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. He placed his hand on the switch to activate the Z-drive, but hesitated. There was no real reason to avoid her. It might be better to see what she wanted first. He could always change his mind later.

Ekko dropped his hand and turned around. Caitlyn stopped in front of him and leaned her rifle over her shoulder.

"Hi!" she said.

"Hey," replied Ekko, studying her closely. He couldn't read her expression at all.

"So, I never got the chance to properly thank you," started Caitlyn.

"It's fine," said Ekko, knowing what she meant.

An awkward silence settled on the two of them, and Ekko was beginning to wonder why she bothered to stop him.

"So… have you seen a young boy in this area recently?" she asked, finally getting to the point.

Ekko immediately became suspicious, but he made sure none of it crossed his face.

"I see several boys here everyday," said Ekko.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and pulled out a picture, "have you seen this boy recently?"

Ekko took the picture. It was of a Piltie boy, that much was obvious, but he seemed to come from a less wealthy family since his clothing wasn't as fancy.

"He disappeared in this area a few days ago, the exact time is unknown," continued Caitlyn.

 _Kids disappear from the streets of Zaun almost everyday, but once a Piltie child disappears, everyone makes a fuss,_ thought Ekko, though all he said was "Nope, haven't seen him."

Ekko handed the picture back to Caitlyn who looked slightly disappointed.

"Have you noticed any other kids disappearing in this area?" asked Caitlyn.

Ekko sighed, "kids in Zaun disappear all the time. Most of the time no one notices, even more often no one cares"

Ekko watched Caitlyn's face, and from her lack of reaction he deduced that she already knew that.

"So, why do you ask, if you already know the answer?" asked Ekko.

Caitlyn's eyebrows shot up in surprise, then a smile broke out on her face, "nothing escapes your notice, does it, genius boy?"

Ekko could feel himself grin, "what can I say? I'm just naturally amazing."

"I can see that modesty isn't in your dictionary."

"And wits seem to make up half of yours, with the other half consisting of various forbidden words."

"Pardon me, Monsieur, but would you be so gracious as to rephrase what you mean in more common words," replied Caitlyn mockingly with an overdramatized bow.

"Of course, my lady," started Ekko with an equally ridiculous bow. Then he straightened back up. "What do you want?" he asked bluntly, returning the conversation back to its original topic.

Caitlyn paused before answering. "I heard that you were also looking for a missing boy."

Ekko hesitated before saying, "yes."

"So I was wondering whether to two cases were related," said Caitlyn.

"Probably not," said Ekko. "Like I said, kids go missing here all the time."

"Did the person you're looking for disappear near the Boundary Markets a few days ago?" asked Caitlyn.

"Yes," said Ekko.

"Then there might be a relationship between the two. So information about one might help the other."

"So you're suggesting that we work together?" asked Ekko.

"Yeah, basically. So what do you say? Do you want to work together?" asked Caitlyn, stretching her hand out.

Ekko hesitated for a moment. He tried to come up with as many negative outcomes as he could, but the opportunity also brought a lot of potential positive outcomes.

"Okay," said Ekko, reaching out to shake her hand.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Hi everyone! Again :) First of all, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to write the second chapter. I've been really busy with school and life in general, but I still want to finish this, so look forward to all the future chapters. Secondly, I want to thank everyone who left a review, they really made my day and helped bring my motivation back. Third of all, ... there is no third thing. Have a nice day and happy reading! :P


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